What is Rayls? A bank-grade EVM chain that combines privacy and DeFi to revolutionize finance

Rayls (formerly Parchain) is the first EVM-compatible blockchain ecosystem designed specifically for financial institutions, combining a KYC-protected public chain with private subnet systems to create the UniFi (Unified Finance) hybrid architecture. The platform supports asset tokenization, CBDC payments, cross-border transactions, and internal institutional settlement, providing comprehensive privacy protection through zero-knowledge and homomorphic encryption technologies.

What is Rayls? The Core Concept of the UniFi Blockchain

Rayls is a blockchain system designed from scratch, specifically built for financial institutions seeking compliant and scalable digital asset and DeFi entry pathways. The name derives from “rails” (referring to financial infrastructure) and “ray” (indicating speed and clarity). Its core vision is to combine traditional financial regulation, trust, and global reach with blockchain’s programmability and efficiency.

Traditional finance (TradFi), while stable, is slow and siloed. DeFi is fast, borderless, and innovative but lacks institutional trust and compliance. Rayls bridges these worlds by providing banks and DeFi users a shared, secure platform, creating a hybrid approach of UniFi (Unified Finance).

Initially developed by a multidisciplinary team of engineers, cryptographers, and bankers, after over two years of product research with some of the world’s largest financial institutions, this deep industry collaboration ensures Rayls meets real-world financial needs from the outset, not just technological experimentation.

Through Rayls, financial institutions can create their own authorized EVM “subnet” blockchains called VEN (Value Exchange Network), utilizing zero-knowledge and homomorphic cryptography to offer complete transaction privacy to participants. This makes it possible to build compliant and secure environments tailored to financial institutions. Since each participant in a subnet runs its own ledger, the system offers infinite scalability while securely connecting each subnet to the Rayls public chain.

Dual Architecture System: Public Chain and Private Subnets Coexist

Rayls’s uniqueness lies in its dual-architecture design, simultaneously satisfying transparency and institutional privacy needs:

1. Rayls Public Chain (Permissionless, Compliance Ethereum L2)

Built on Arbitrum Orbit, this EVM layer-2 is fully compatible with Ethereum, allowing existing dApps and smart contracts to be easily deployed. The key feature of this public chain is its built-in KYC and AML, with every account verified via KYC, making it the most regulation-conscious public chain for institutions.

Anyone can use the Rayls public chain, an permissionless and publicly accessible Ethereum L2. Users connecting directly to Rayls public chain cannot use native privacy features and must pass KYC to transact. This design offers an open environment for DeFi and developers, allowing DApps, bridges, and tokens to be built just like on any other L2, but with significantly enhanced security. Financial institutions can tokenize real assets and distribute them directly into the global DeFi market.

2. Rayls Private Subnets and Privacy Nodes (Permissioned and Confidential EVM Chains)

This is the most innovative part of Rayls. Private subnets utilize advanced cryptography (zero-knowledge techniques and homomorphic encryption) to ensure transaction confidentiality. Participating financial institutions manage their own private ledgers in a single-node, fast EVM blockchain. These private ledgers allow participants to maintain data privacy within their IT environments while still connecting with other VEN participants to conduct private token transactions using advanced cryptographic techniques.

Importantly, each VEN can establish its own governance rules to ensure compliance with local laws and adapt to various use cases. Full auditability is a key feature—each transaction is protected but can be audited by designated parties to meet regulatory requirements. Institutions can issue private tokens, manage customer accounts, and conduct cross-border transactions—all within a legal framework.

This architecture enables institutions to provide secure and compliant access to clients, utilize the latest DeFi protocols, and access larger liquidity pools, creating opportunities for DeFi developers to reach new customers and liquidity.

Why Does the Financial Industry Need Rayls? Solving Traditional Pain Points

For years, there have been multiple attempts to bring financial institutions onto blockchain pathways, but they have failed to deliver transformative impact in finance. Most of these efforts rely on permissioned blockchain systems, which create isolated islands and often lack interoperability with public blockchains. As a result, adopting this technology offers little benefit, and many projects are abandoned or discontinued.

Rayls addresses the core challenges hindering widespread blockchain adoption in finance:

EVM Standardization Requirement: The evolution of blockchain technology and the emergence of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) as the standard for smart contracts, tokens, and decentralized applications mean that any enterprise-grade solution must be compatible with EVM standards.

Strict Regulatory Compliance: Financial institutions must adhere to domestic and international laws and regulations, under strict supervision. Rayls meets these needs through built-in KYC/AML and customizable governance rules.

Transaction Privacy Needs: As fiduciaries and protectors of client data, financial institutions require transaction privacy to prevent sensitive information leakage to competitors. Rayls’s zero-knowledge and homomorphic encryption technologies provide complete privacy.

Unlimited Scalability: The high transaction volumes within financial institutions demand solutions that surpass traditional blockchain capabilities. Rayls’s subnet architecture offers infinite scalability.

Application Scenarios and Rayls Enygma Privacy Protocol

Rayls is an ideal environment for TradFi and DeFi applications. From tokenization projects to RWA and CBDC, Rayls combines speed and compliance mechanisms to support any TradFi use case, while also supporting DeFi protocols, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and NFTs within a secure, collaborative ecosystem.

Real-World Applications in Production

Tokenization of Accounts Receivable: Providing double-digit on-chain yields backed by real assets.

CBDC Infrastructure: Collaborating with central banks for confidential, programmable payments and cross-border settlements.

Cross-Border Payments and Settlements: Using privacy-preserving technology for real-time, low-cost international transfers.

Rayls Enygma is an enterprise-grade privacy protocol designed for confidential tokenized payments and delivery-versus-payment (DvP) workflows. Shielded, auditable transactions ensure each payment is private by default but can be audited as needed. Programmable atomic settlement supports advanced financial, settlement, and compliance use cases. The combination of tokenization and governance allows institutions to explicitly define how digital value is created, moved, and regulated.

Roadmap and RLS Token Economy

Rayls has launched the Steam testnet and is progressing toward mainnet deployment by December 2025. Future developments include multi-issuer KYC onboarding, support for desktop and mobile devices, privacy-preserving KYC credentials (using zkTLS), sponsored transactions, validator staking, and active verification services (AVS) for transaction compliance.

$RLS The governance and utility token, connecting stakeholders and fostering ecosystem participation. Rayls aims to become the most compliant, highly liquid, and secure L2 for real-world asset trading and institutional DeFi innovation. The project is open-source and ecosystem-first; as components mature and meet security standards, the code will be gradually released.